


Little Hamster's Errand Boy

by Seazar



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Time for a trip, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:48:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29926764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seazar/pseuds/Seazar
Summary: A great career opportunity presents itself to Poppy, but she needs to travel out of town for it. Her only option to get there: a reluctant and grumpy Tora. To hell with Quincey and his meddling.Sets off after Episode 23, AU from there.
Relationships: Quincey Balthuman & Poppy Wilkes, Quincey Balthuman & Tora, Quincey Balthuman/Cordelia, Tora/Poppy Wilkes
Comments: 27
Kudos: 41





	1. Apples my Ass

**Author's Note:**

> My first fanfiction in YEARS. It's been so long, but something about this fandom has pulled me out of hibernation and here I am. Maybe it's using Comic Sans to write (magic) or it's the fact that Tora just feels so effortless, but I'm 20 pages in! Literally just saying that is like I've just looked a miracle in the face. Or it might just be 17 year old me giving myself a big thumbs up.
> 
> Do be warned, this fix is littered with f-bombs. Combine Tora's potty mouth with my own love for swearing and you've got yourself a very "fuck" friendly concoction. Bottoms up, dearies.
> 
> All characters belong to the one and only Lilydusk. If you'd like to support her and Midnight Poppy Land, I highly suggest checking out her patreon at https://www.patreon.com/lilydusk.

Fucking Quincey. How was that brat never on time? Acted like Tora had nothing better to do than sit in a stuffy car, waiting for him. Technically, Tora didn’t have anything better to do. This was his damned job these days. It was this or working for Vincent, and hell, Tora knew which he preferred. Still, he’d been waiting for nearly half an hour. If he’d known ahead of time he could’ve squeezed in a quick work out at least. With that schedule Quince had him on, driving him from one appointment to the next, there was hardly time to go to the gym. Was like Quincey didn’t know the effort it took to keep his body the shape it was. And they both knew that Tora had to maintain his… assets. He might be a bodyguard on paper and driver in practice at the moment, but Vincent could call any minute. In fact, he had done so just last week and Tora had felt the missing workouts on that job.

Tora impatiently wiped the sweat from his brow. It was too fucking hot in this car. He really needed to get the air conditioning fixed, dammit. With a huff, Tora pulled on his cap, flung open the door and pulled himself out of the car. He pocketed the key, and leaned against the door, enjoying the slight breeze on his skin now. He’d left his phone on the dash, an unopened message hidden on the idle screen. If Quincey called, he’d hear, but the closed door was helping him not open that message. Better if he didn’t send a read receipt. Fuck, he should’ve deleted the contact. Blocked it even. He should’ve asked Ronzo to sever any and all contact, make it impossible for him to be reached, or to reach…

Fuckin’ weak. Tora huffed, rolling his neck and stretching it from side to side. Felt tight from sitting in that car so much. Trust Quincey to ruin the one thing he actually liked. And then the Quincess had the balls to complain about his driving, too. Damned ungrateful. Tora reminded himself once more that he was getting paid for hauling that ass all over town. 

Another good thing about his phone being in the car was not knowing how much time was wasting away while he waited for his brother. Felt like for fucking ever. Tora glanced over at the grocery store across the street. Maybe he could go pick up some strawberry juice. If Quincey arrived while he was gone, he’d see the car and know Tora couldn’t be far. With a sigh Tora pulled open the door again, grabbed his phone and pocketed it without checking. He slammed the door shut, pressed the lock on his key and jogged across the street.

The shop was fucking full. Everyone in fucking Narin was in there to grab whatever shit they needed, and Tora nearly gave up on the juice within a minute of entering. Only the knowledge that Quincey would be dragging him to go clothes shopping later, convinced Tora that he should get something to calm himself down now or the afternoon was going to be hell. He squeezed past another shopper in the juice aisle, turning so his back and the gun pressed against it were facing the shelves and not the person. They glanced up at him wide eyed, quickly ducked their head and hurried out of the aisle without deciding on one of the orange juices they’d been staring at. Tora rolled his eyes, which then fell on a kid staring at him, mouth hanging open. It was clutching its mother’s hand, though mercifully she was facing away from him, engrossed in her shopping list. Tora pulled a face at the kid, hoping to scare it a little. Didn’t feel like being stared at, happened too often. But the kid decided to laugh instead of cower and drew the mother’s attention who reacted much the same as the previous person, leaving him on his own in the aisle.

Tora adjusted his hat, pulling it lower into his face. Probably made it worse, but fuck it. He finally turned his attention to the strawberry juice, picking out the little juice boxes clearly meant for kids. They came in a three pack, wrapped in cellophane and the strawberries drawn on the front had happy faces drawn on them. He tore open the wrapping on one side and stabbed the straw into the leftmost box, sucking some of the juice out lazily. The clerks hated when he opened the juice before paying for it, so he did it every time. He turned to go to pay and see the clerk’s expression, when he heard his name being called over the buzz of the shop.

“Tora!” His heart made an annoying jump, and he clenched the juice box, causing some its content to spray onto his shirt. Fuck.

Sure enough, when he turned around, large brown eyes were staring up at him out of the cutest face and attached to the tiniest adult body he’d ever seen. Just his fucking luck. The woman in front of him had reached out to touch him and draw his attention when he initially didn’t respond to her call, and she now let her hand sink to her side. Her other arm was carrying a shopping basket filled with a bunch of sweet shit and a pack of apples. Somehow he was sure the apples were just a cover to make it seem less like she was buying diabetes by the pound.

“I texted you,” Poppy said, when he said nothing. He couldn’t read her expression, but it sure as fuck wasn’t happy.  


“Didn’t see,” he lied, and drew more juice from the straw. Her lips tightened, and she nodded, shifting the weight of the basket into her other arm.

“That’s okay. I was just asking if we could talk.” The words hung in the air between them. The fuck was he supposed to say to that. They were talking now, weren’t they?

She seemed to think the same, showing a small smile. “Is now a good time?”

“M’busy.” She looked taken aback, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. Fuck. It wasn’t a lie. He was busy, waiting for the Quincess like the fool he was. He gestured outside vaguely and clarified, “workin’. Ya can talk to me while I check out.”

Ya fuckin’ sucker. Is it really that hard to fuckin’ say no to her? Ya made ya decision, now ya gotta have the balls to stick by it.  
  
She lit up slightly at his offer, and followed him to the check-out. Tora chucked the empty juice box onto the band along with the other two. He saw the clerk open his mouth to complain, but when their eyes met, the guy quickly lowered them again with a frown, and swiped the product along the scanner. Tora dropped some coins onto the tray in between him and the clerk, grabbed the full boxes and strode to the door. Poppy hadn’t said anything the whole while, it was fucking awkward. At the door he turned, seeing her hectically search for money in her purse, throwing glances after him. He had wanted to just leave, but he couldn’t fucking do it. _The one time ya gotta be an ass and ya can’t._

She hurried after him, still stuffing some of her groceries, if that’s what you could call them, into her bag, clearly not wanting him to just take off without her. Not that he could. A glance at the car had told him fucking Quincey still was nowhere to be seen.

When she’d caught up with him he strode out of the shop, pushing the glass door open wide for her to pass through behind him. At the car, with nowhere else for him to go, they stopped, finally. He looked at her, expectantly. She’d wanted to talk, and yet she hadn’t said a single word since he’d said that she could.

“Tora, did I do something wrong?” The look on her face broke a piece out of his chest.

“Nah, ya good, sweetheart.” She clearly didn’t believe him, shifting her weight from one foot onto the next. Why the fuck had he had to run into her? That was just his fucking luck. So much for avoiding her until she’d forgotten about him or was mad enough at him to curse him to hell. “What’cha wanna talk about? Don’t have much time.”

“Oh, of course. It’s just, uh, I… I kind of need your help.”

Fuck, she looked proper worried. He let the juice boxes drop to the ground, and pulled her a fraction closer, holding her upper arm and staring into her face. “What happened? Someone give ya trouble? Somebody hurt ya?”

She hadn’t looked hurt in the store, had looked positively happy to see him until he’d shut her down like the dumbass he was. What if someone’d seen him with her? The one thing he’d wanted to avoid, his main goal to not draw any fucking clan attention to her. What if he’d missed something?

“No, I’m not hurt. I’m fine!” She promised, a small smile stealing onto her face. Her looking at him like that, it made him fucking weak in the knees. It was hope in her eyes. Dammit. “It’s a work thing.”

A work thing. He let go of her arm and leaned back against the car, arms folded across his chest. The fuck could he help with that?

“It’s Mr. Lam. He called just after you left the other day. You were right, he’s fine! And he agreed to meet with me again, give me a second chance!” Yeah, the old fart better, after all Poppylan had gone through for him. “But he had to leave Narin on urgent business. He said I could meet him out in Setton in two days.”  
  
“Setton? How the fuck ya gonna get there?” Setton was a ways away, further north and toward the coast. He’d been there once on business, and the parts he’d seen weren’t pretty. Then again, the parts he saw of any city weren’t pretty. He made sure of that.

“Well, that’s where I hoped you could help me?”

“Can’t ya take a train?” He muttered, wishing for Quincey to finally show up and give him an out.

“I can’t afford it,” she admitted, looking down at her feet.

“But ya can afford a bag full of junk? Apples my ass.”

Her face turned scarlet, and he was preparing himself for some pushback. Instead, she swallowed thickly and continued on, quickly, desperately.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but you asked for dinner in exchange for the photo, and well, we never got to do that, so I thought I could make you dinner in exchange?”

“Right, ya were gonna make dinner for the photo, didn’t, and now I gotta do something else for ya so ya make me dinner? The fuck kinda bargain is that?” It had come out harsher than he wanted, but probably just as harsh as he needed it to be for her to finally keep her distance. He’d told her he’d delete the photo and be out of her hair, hadn’t he? Well, photo was gone now. Even though that sight was vividly burned into his memory. Didn’t need a photo to remember that. Especially now, when she was standing in front of him, his height giving him a vantage point to look straight down her - _get ya fucking mind out the gutter ya big idiot. Ya want her to stay away. So ya gotta stay away_.

“I, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry, I just thought -“

“S’fine, Poppy,” he muttered, bending to pick up the juice boxes and opening the car door to throw them onto the passenger seat. When he turned around her cheeks were flushed. He wished it was from him teasing her, but he’d embarrassed her. That was worse than her being angry. “Sorry, Poppylan. I told ya. I delete the photo, I leave ya alone. For ya own good.”

“Tora, please. I have no other way of doing this, and it’s really important to me!” He could see it in her face, how much she fucking hated pleading with him like this. And he had to shut her down. _Hurts me just as much as ya, kid._

“Sorry, Poppy. I gotta run. Hope ya find a way.” He dropped himself into his seat and pulled the door shut between them. Needed to get her out of his face, before he crumbled. His jaw was set in a hard line, and he stared straight ahead as he put the car in drive and pulled out of the spot. The moment he’d weaved into the traffic his phone buzzed. He pulled it out to check and let out an angry groan.  
  
@Qunice: Gonna be another hour or so, I’ll call when I’m done. Love you, honey!  
  
Motherfucker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this first ones a bit of a short one. Any other place felt like a weird cut. I know Tora's a bit rough in this one. He'll come around. Probably :)


	2. Mind if I sit?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora leaves Poppy to deal with her thoughts on her own, for the most part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why not post two chapters in one day - it's the beginning after all! I wanted to give you a bit more to read to get into the story, so without further ado, here it goes :)
> 
> All characters belong to the one and only Lilydusk. If you'd like to support her and Midnight Poppy Land, I highly suggest checking out her patreon at https://www.patreon.com/lilydusk.

Poppy stood on the curb where he’d left her, unmoving for a full minute or two. He’d just driven away, not even sparing her another glance before disappearing among the traffic. She was clutching the thin plastic of her grocery bag for a lack of anything else to hold onto. What was she to feel? Which of the emotions fighting for dominance in her brain and stomach should she address first? The abominable anger she felt at the way he’d treated her? The hurt over his harsh words? Or the numbing realisation that her one hope had slammed a literal car door into her face?

She swallowed it all down, just like she had before, and turned, feeling lost. She wasn’t ready to return to the office, had announced she would go pick up a few things for the upcoming trip, so sure that she’d have a way to actually make it. Gil was going to be so disappointed in her when she told him she’d been mistaken, and that she wouldn’t be able to make it. It had been with such confidence that she’d announced she could make the interview work, Tora springing to mind right away.

Her jaw clenched hard, and her eyes fell on a coffee shop a few doors over. A hot cup of anything was just what she needed, something to keep her occupied and help her wash down this cocktail of emotions, disappointment cresting at its top. There really was no reason she should have been so sure he’d say yes. Why had she just assumed? Just because he’d helped her out a couple of times? After he’d driven her home a couple of days ago, things had seemed amicable between them, even if he had been upset with her initially.

The café was filled with people working, hammering away at their laptops and sipping on their beverages occasionally. Poppy walked to the counter, ordering her favourite comfort drink on autopilot, and plopping herself down on a small table at the far wall of the space. It had just been vacated, and a barista bustled over to clean away the used dishes. Poppy acknowledged them with a small smile, before sinking her face into her Amaretto hot chocolate. It was good. Almond-y, chocolaty goodness filled her mouth and burned slightly as she swallowed. The physical sensation gave her just a second to focus on something else than the thoughts swirling in her head.

What had she done to make him this upset with her? Maybe he’d just lost interest, never intending for their brief encounters to become anything regular. Really, they’d only met up on purpose once at the old lady’s place, and even that dinner had ended with him storming out. She thought he’d forgiven her, when he'd texted her Mr. Lam’s location, but clearly she’d been wrong. He had been furious, too, when he’d picked her and Ben up in Ares Street, outside of that club with Ben bleeding all over her. Tora had chastised her for being so stupid and not heeding his warning. She hadn’t wanted to ask for his help, but when Ben had emerged from the club with a head wound and accompanied by bouncers, what was she to do but contact the one person she could think of who’d know how to handle such a situation?  


The relief that had washed over her when his car had screeched to a halt in front of them, mere minutes after their call, had been so immense that she hadn’t even minded his growled admonitions on the drive to Ben’s teacher, whatever that had meant. Surely it couldn’t have been his school teacher, that didn’t seem like a typical relationship for anyone to have with that a regular teacher. She hadn’t gotten to meet the mystery person though, only been assured that Ben was fine.

———————————————

“Let me help you!” They’d come to a stop in front of a nice looking apartment building, much out of the range of what Poppy could ever hope to afford, especially in this part of town. She made to open her car door to help Ben out, but the doors clicked shut immediately. Poppy turned to look at Tora, who was glaring at her.

“Wait here. I’ll be back.” He got out, and she twisted to watch him pull Ben out of the backseat and sling him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. The door slammed shut behind them, and she watched Tora disappear into the building, sinking back into her seat. She could disarm the child lock and get a cab home, but Tora had really helped her out of a fickle situation there. What was she thinking, sending this kid into a club like that? She had no idea of what had actually happened in there, except that Ben assured her Mr. Lam had gotten her note. Staring into nothing, Poppy was chewing her lip, bracing herself for Tora’s bad mood. Had she really put herself and Ben in that dangerous a situation? Hopefully the boy would be okay. Maybe his teacher could succeed where she failed and convince Ben to see a doctor.

Tora reappeared at the car door suddenly, and she jumped when he pulled it open forcefully and dropped into the driver’s seat, turning his upper body to face her.

“He’ll be fine,” he answered her unspoken question. “His mentor’s got him now.”

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” she said quickly, “but I’m grateful you came to get us. Thank you for coming so quickly.”

Tora nodded. His fingers were twitching on his lap, and her eyes moved to the pack of cigarettes stashed in the middle console.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I put someone’s life seriously at risk, and what if… what if we hadn’t gotten lucky? I was in over my head,” she admitted leaning her head back into her seat.

“Yeah,” he agreed, and Poppy rolled her eyes away from him to look out of the window. Suddenly a warm, heavy hand dropped onto hers which were clenched in her lap. She spun her head around, his eyes piercing as ever but with a warmth in them. His face was much closer than she’d expected, his entire body towering over her, even in this enclosed space of the car. “But ya did a good thing. Ben’s fine, and ya Mr. Lamb is, too.” He held up his phone as if it were proof.

“Really? Did, did your colleague’s tell you that?” Her relief had been only brief, quickly sinking back into worry. Could they really count on the words of those dodgy looking men?

“Nah, got other contacts. He got away. Can call him if ya like.” He nodded towards her phone and withdrew himself from her personal space, as well as retrieving his hand from hers. Her fingers twitched after his, mourning the loss of its comforting warmth, but she quickly settled it back into her lap, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

“I trust you.” Poppy had intended for it to mean she trusted the information he was giving her, but she didn’t clarify. When in great need and way out of her comfort zone, she had called _him_. Because she had trusted him to show up for her. She had trusted him to care, and she could not explain why. Maybe he was wondering the same, because he opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it again. 

“I’ll take ya home. Are ya comfortable with that?”

She smiled at him earnestly. “I am, thank you for asking. Want me to put the directions on my phone?”

“Nah, just give me ya address.” He’d already started driving, so she closed the app on her phone and dictated her address to him. “Hope ya don’t always give it out so freely.”

“Nope, only to my friendly neighbourhood thugs.” Right after the words had slipped form her lips, Poppy clasped her hands over her mouth and shot him a glance. Maybe those weren’t the kind of jokes she should be making after the night she’d had. But Tora’s mouth was clearly trying to hide a grin. His lips were pressed together and the corners of his mouth ever so slightly raised.

“Ya got a lot of those?” The car slowed to a stop at an intersection, then sped back up, slightly above the speed limit. At least he was taking some traffic rules seriously, she thought, and immediately corrected herself when he sped through red. He glanced at her, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Takes forever to turn green. So, do ya?”

It took her a moment to realise he was referring to the question he’d asked before running the red light. “Oh, nope, I only know one so far. And he’s not half as scary as he thinks he is.”

“That’s what ya think? Well shit, sweetheart, looks like I gotta try harder.” He smirked at her, then returned his attention to the road. He didn’t seem to hesitate at all on the turns he was taking, clearly knowing where he was headed.

“Seems like you know this city like the palm of your hand,” she observed and then saw him briefly lift his right hand from the steering wheel and turn it to face him, before replacing it with a frown..

“Whatever ya say, Bobby.” With a shrug her replaced his hand, and she giggled. _What a dork_. 

The rest of the ride passed silently between them. Poppy typed out a couple of messages to Jacob, reassuring him that she was okay and thanking him for the video footage, which she forwarded to the cabby. Once she stopped looking at her phone and stared out of the window instead, her eyes began to grow tired. The excitement of the night began weighing on her, and she knew she would be out like a light once she sank into her pillows later. Actually, that was all she really wanted.

“Bobby.”

Poppy opened her eyes, and lifted her forehead from the window which it had been pressed to. Tora had pulled up next to the gate to her complex, and she stifled a yawn, turning to look at him sleepily.

“We’re here,” he stated the obvious, and she nodded.

“Thanks for the ride, and everything, again.” Now it was his turn to nod. Not knowing what else to say, Poppy turned to open her door, but it was still locked. She was just about to ask him to open it, when his hand gripped hers for the second time that night. Both of them looked down at their hands for a moment, before Poppy looked up to meet his resolute eyes. 

“Wait a sec,” he instructed, and pulled out his phone with his free hand. She realised that it could have been a less awkward endeavour if he’d let go of her, but his right hand remained firmly on hers. Poppy followed his movements on his phone, which he was holding angled so she could see. He tapped to enter his gallery and swiped down a few times, until he’d found what he was looking for. A photo of her flashed up, and seeing it made her flush hot in embarrassment. Of course she had known it had been sitting on his phone, but seeing it and seeing him _look at it_ , made her painfully aware of the fact that a photo of her boobs had been in his possession for days. It was only open for a brief moment before Tora had tapped the little trashcan and confirmed his action. He turned to face her, looking unfazed, while Poppy could feel her blood coursing through her body.

“I thought you wanted dinner for it,” she breathed, clearing her throat to return substance to her voice. Tora shook his head lightly.

“Changed my mind. Shouldn’t be a transaction. Shouldn’t have had it to begin with.”

Why was there a hint of sadness in his eyes? Poppy placed her other hand on top of his, squeezing lightly.

“Thank you, that means a lot.” An unexpected yawn overcame her, and she turned her head away from him, not quite willing to let go of his hand from within the little hand sandwich they had made. He chuckled.

“Ya should get yaself to bed, sweetheart. S’late.”

Poppy nodded, and they let go of each other. She gathered her purse from between her legs, heard the car locks click open and pushed open the door. Once she’d climbed outside, she heard him call her name and bent down to peer back into the car. Tora had slung his arm around the passenger seat to support his weight leaning closer to the door.

“I’ll keep my promise, Bobby,” he said softly. “G’night."  
  
“Good night, Tora.” Poppy retreated fully back out of the car, and let the door fall shut. She waved at him once, and he responded in kind. Then she turned, punched her code into the gate and slipped through it. It was only when the gate clicked shut behind her, that she heard the car pull off the curb and speed off onto the road.

———————————————

“Hey, so sorry to disturb, mind if I sit?” 

A voice to her left pulled Poppy out of her thoughts and back into the busy space of the café. She nodded, and quickly scooted over, shuffling her notes which she had spread over the table further to her end of it. Only then did she take a proper look at the stranger who had folded his legs and his hands on top of them, his left eye brow which was cut by a scar quirked high, a glint in his eyes. His expression reminded her strongly of Erdene, when her friend was expecting Poppy to spill some gossip, of which she hardly ever had any. She cleared her throat, aware that she had held eye contact for just a moment too long, and returned her attention to her drink.

“I couldn’t help but notice you were looking slightly distressed,” the stranger said suddenly, making her head whip back up and stare at him like a deer in headlights. She supposed she had been chewing her thumb nail rather aggressively, she’d just not expected that anyone would pay her attention.  
  
“Oh, no, I’m totally fine!” She smiled awkwardly. “Just, um, work stuff.” Poppy raised her notes weakly before setting them back onto the table and giving them a pat, hoping to dissuade further conversation.

“Ugh, tell me about it!” The stranger made an exasperated face. “It’s the worst, isn’t it? Oh, I completely forgot to introduce myself. Quincey!” He smiled broadly and held out his hand for her to take. She hesitantly took his limp hand into hers, giving it a gentle shake before placing hers back into her lap.  
  
“Poppylan,” she said and tried another smile herself, this time reaching closer to her eyes. From what she’d observed so far, most people in the city did everything in their power to avoid unnecessary human contact, especially with strangers. So while she really wasn’t a standoffish person normally, she felt like a fish out of water again. A true city native probably would’ve asked this intruder on their quality alone time to fudge off the minute he started talking, and she had considered it, but she just wasn’t there yet. It was quite likely she never would be.  
  
“Cute!” Quincey exclaimed, and Poppy refocused her eyes on his face which was bubbling with personality.

“Huh?” She asked, before turning her attention to the approaching barista who was carrying a frappucino and set it down carefully in front of Quincey.

“Your name,” Quincey clarified after thanking the barista without ever taking his eyes off of Poppy. Was Narin city just filled with tall good looking men with shamelessly piercing eyes? And if so, why hadn’t she come across them sooner?

“Oh, thanks! But, I go by Poppy actually,” she trailed off at the end, and his face seemed to light up even further, though she hadn’t thought that was possible.

“Even better!” Quincey took a sip from his drink, hummed of enjoyment and licked some of the foam from his upper lip, before settling his chin on his fist. “So, Poppy, now that we’re all acquainted you can feel free to let loose about what’s got you in a pickle.” He gestured at her notes with his free hand, clearly awaiting a juicy story.

To buy herself time, Poppy grabbed her own glass of boozy hot chocolate which had cooled down considerably since she’d sat down at the table. Surely Quincey couldn’t expect her to actually divulge her private troubles to him simply because they had exchanged names? Though maybe this was a thing city people did? Rant to strangers when their emotions were running high - it was, at least, what they always seemed to do in the movies. Therapy _was_ expensive, and maybe Quincey was one of those eccentric people who went around collecting people’s stories and then compiling them in a book later on or in a social media account. He certainly seemed to be the type - open, talkative, a face like a gossip magnet. You couldn’t help but want to spill the tea to him.

“It’s just an important project that’s turning out more complicated than I anticipated,” she began cautiously. If she didn’t give away any major details what harm could it be? She huffed. “It’s my own fault, really. I can’t even be mad at the company for it. Bit off more than I could chew, I suppose.”

Poppy smiled up at him, and Quincey responded in kind raising his head out of his frappucino, a line of foam resting on his top lip. He hadn’t expected her to stop talking so soon it seemed. “The thing is, though, no sane person with just a bit of ambition could have said no! This project would be like my big break. Or well, a mini break, a foot in the door, at least. I’ve working my booty off, taking all the assignments I can, and it’s getting me nowhere. In the grand scheme of things I’m idling, but I came to the city to make something of myself.”

“They all do,” Quincey sighed sadly, his eyes drifting off into the distance. 

“I’m sorry, this must seem silly to you.” Poppy felt embarrassed suddenly, taking in his composure, his expensive clothes, meticulously styled hair and flawless skin. Quincey was clearly successful, and she was a small fry bemoaning the same things as everyone else. Her childish whinging was not the dramatic story he’d hoped for. It was just that once she’d opened her mouth, she hadn’t been able to stop.

“Oh no, no, no, do not apologise,” Quincey responded on a gasp. “We don’t make ourselves smaller than we are! You ladies really ought to take a cue from us men, always add a couple of inches.” He winked, and she clasped her hands over her mouth to hide her snorted laughter. 

“You’ve got it,” she promised and held up her thumb and index finger, leaving a couple of inches of space in between.

“Say, do you want another one of those?” Quincey pointed at her nearly empty glass, and after quick consideration she nodded and confirmed that she’d like it just the same, with a generous shot of Amaretto.  
  
“Ooh, you like it sweet!” Quincey exclaimed and then gasped in mock offence, when she pulled out her coin pouch.

“I sure do,” she giggled and returned her pouch to her purse, looking after Quincey who sashayed to the counter and held up two fingers while leaning in cordially to the barista. It seemed he was a regular here. Poppy smiled, waiting contently, her mood having turned around dramatically since Tora had left her standing on the curb alone with her frustration.

_Turn it around, Poppy! Don’t think about that jerk. Okay, that’s not fair, he’s not a jerk. It’s his full right to decline running an errand for you. Just because he’s been helpful doesn’t mean he owes you. And just because you thought he would want to spend time with you, doesn’t mean that he can just drop everything. So get over yourself._

Quincey was on his way back, this time carrying both their drinks himself. The hot chocolate gently swayed over the rim of her glass as he placed it in front of her, though Quincey didn’t seem to notice. He seemed rather content with himself.

Once he’d settled back into his seat comfortably and tried the drink he’d gotten them both, his attention was fully returned to her. “Right, now that we have that covered, what’s this mini break opportunity you’ve gotten yourself?”

Poppy took a large gulp of her chocolate, then paused to stir, take another sip, and then set her drink down with determination. Surely telling Quincey couldn’t hurt. So, she outlined the new client, the importance they held for her company, and more specifically her career. It was the chance to prove herself, show that she really was worth those extra inches! They both giggled at that part.

“You are too much!” Quincey patted her hand. “So glad this is taking root.”

“Of course, it’s such a great mental image,” she grinned. While she’d never done anything like _that_ with dickwad, he had definitely tended to overestimate himself, and make her smaller and smaller in the process. Her shift of thoughts seemed to be showing, because Quincey lightly squeezed his fingers around her hand now, encouraging her to keep explaining. “See, the problem is, they can’t come up to the city. And I thought I could just make it there by public transport, but the connections are a mess and apparently super unreliable. I would have to request a couple of extra days for the trip, and while it’s for work, we haven’t got the means to cover any travel expense right now and well… I, um…”

She broke off, unsure if she wanted this generous man to know that much about her hopeless financial situation. She didn’t want him to feel like she was taking advantage of him, getting tipsy off of hot chocolate and his money. Even just thinking it made it sound silly, though. Quincey seemed to have a high enough opinion of people that he wouldn’t think that poorly of her, right?

“No need to feel embarrassed,” he assured immediately. “Been there, done that.” She held his gaze unblinkingly for a moment, and he caved. “Okay, no, I’ve never been there and never done that. The closest I’ve been to public transport was first class on a plane that also carried _some_ other people. I mean, can you imagine?”

Pfft, pfft. Quincey was starting to grow on her more and more. Sure, they clearly had had vastly different lives, but so had she and Tora, and they still got on. Or, well, normally they did. She had thought that they did. There he was again, back in her head. 

_He made it clear that he doesn’t want to see you again, Poppy. Get. Over. It._

“So, you have no other way of getting there? No possible solution?”

“Well, I thought it did,” Poppy muttered, her thoughts still on Tora. “I asked a f- acquaintance, very distant acquaintance, for a ride. Really, it was a farfetched idea, I know that. I had no reason to think they would agree, except for the fact that they’re the only person I know who even has a car in the city.” Quincey kept nodding, and helping her along with well timed “mhm”s. “I clearly overstepped my bounds, and long story short, he- they said no. Which was well within their right, mind you! It’s just that, well, I thought, I don’t know. I had it in my head for some reason, that they might say yes! I got my hopes all the way up, and now I’m back to where I started, except that the only idea I had for how to salvage my situation is out of the window now, too.”

With all that talking and recapping her hopeless situation, she felt her emotions had returned right back to 30 minutes ago, before Quincey had plopped down next to her. He, however, did not look as dejected as she felt. In fact, he looked practically giddy.

“We are finally getting to the meat of things,” he said taking a deep, cleansing breath.

“What do you mean?”

Quincey leaned in conspiratorially, and grinned. “See Poppy, it wasn’t entirely outside of my own personal interest to strike up a conversation with you. Here’s the thing -“


	3. Poppylan Fudging Wilkes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quincey does what Quincey does best, and someone is NOT happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments on the last two chapters have been making me so happy, thank you so much! And I'm stoked you were all getting hyped for Quincey! He's loving all the attention and decided to insert his point of view. For some reason I just couldn't write the first part of this chapter from Poppy's POV. Hope you enjoy reading through Quincey's eyes!
> 
> All characters belong to our dear author Lilydusk. Her patreon is incredible at https://www.patreon.com/lilydusk

“Here’s the thing: I saw you talking to my friend Tora before.”

Quincey let the words hang in the air to give appropriate time for a reaction. Poppy’s eyes grew wide, and her mouth dropped open slightly. Pleased, he continued. “It seemed like a rather heated discussion, and -“

“Oh my goat, he sent you? Is he behind this?”

Quincey let out a sharp laugh. “Him? Behind this? Dear, he would kill me if he knew I so much as _saw_ the two of you.” When her eyes widened even further, he quickly continued. “He’s just a bit touchy about stuff like that, but not to worry! As I was saying, I saw you two talking, and I knew there wasn’t a way in the heavens he would tell me what it was all about. You see, it’s not everyday one catches Tora in any kind of conversation with cute little birds such as yourself, let alone a heated one.” He winked at her, but this time the effect was not as he had hoped. Instead of flushing red, as he knew her complexion was prone to doing, she just worriedly drew her bottom lip between her teeth, her eyebrows knitting together. Damn, this wasn’t going as he’d hoped. She seemed freaked out by the fact he knew Tora, and not excited or at least intrigued as Quincey had been counting on.

_Bro, what on earth did you do to her? She was running after you like lost little puppy and now she looks like you’ll serve her head on the platter next to mine. There’s more work to be done here than I thought. Thank goodness she’s so desperate to make that project work._

“Well,” Quincey cleared his throat, “I’m sorry I had to take such a roundabout way of figuring out what was going on. I just really didn’t want to come across as nosy, you know?” In fact, Quincey prided himself in being the most nosy person in all the land, no secrets there, but in this case it didn’t seem like the best foot forward. He did have _some_ tact after all, no matter what sugarplum said.

“Um, it’s fine,” said Poppy, though she seemed rather unsure of herself. Quincey had to turn this around quick. He was losing all of his dramatic momentum, and what a shame, too! He’d pulled out his trump card, and it had slipped from his fingers and lazily fluttered to the ground. _Damn_.

“So, what do you say I help you out?”

Poppy stared at him blankly. “H-how?” She asked on an inhale.

Quincey nudged her hot chocolate a little closer to her, hoping a little extra booze in her system could help her loosen back up. She obediently grabbed the glass and finished it in one go. _Okay, I see you, girl!_ _Tora fucked up hard. No surprises there._

“I’ll get Tora to drive you, of course! You see, I have quite some pull when it comes to him.” Though he normally shouldn’t have more pull than cute, curvy little things like the one sitting in front of him. In fact, if Tora heard him talk about him like this… Quincey could practically feel the bruises forming already. _Double damn_.

“Oh, no, that’s sweet of you to offer,” Poppy was shaking her head and holding out her hands in front of her, palms facing Quincey. “He made it quite clear he wasn’t interested in doing that, and it wouldn’t be fair to push him into doing it just because someone he cares about is asking him to. I wouldn’t want to impose on your friendship like that.”

“No need to worry about that!” Quincey exclaimed. “He works for me, so it’s not like he could decline.”

“I thought.. you said you were friends.” Quincey swore he could see her scoot away from him ever so slightly. Goodness, was he creeping her out? This was going all the wrong ways!

“We are friends!” He reassured her. “But he also works for me. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, I swear. Normally, he drives me around, so I don’t see why I couldn’t ask him to drive someone else around.” Quincey beamed at her, hoping his smile could infect her face and wipe that worried look away. Everything had gone so smoothly until he’d dropped his bro’s name! Of course, that was a whole other thing. He guessed it was a safer bet right now _not_ to tell her they were practically brothers.

Poppy was kneading her hands in her lap, her eyebrows still trying their hardest to meet above her nose. “It’s really very kind of you Quincey, I appreciate it, but I just… I don’t think-“

“Please, don’t say you can’t accept the offer.” He put on his best pout, a classic that had disarmed the girls and the gays many times before, though it only ever had the opposite effect on his gloomy, brooding shadow.

“There’s just no way I could ever make up for it, and Tora… he…” Poppy was starting to look guilty now, and almost as desperate as she had when she’d entered the coffee shop, only now she was declining the help that was being offered her, instead of the other way around. It really was too frustrating.

“Poppy, dear, didn’t you say this was super duper important to you?” Quincey decided it was better to take a serious approach. He shifted forward, gazing at her earnestly. Time to channel his therapist.

“I mean, yes,” she admitted, not meeting his eyes for more than a brief moment.

“There you go. And I honestly think it would be good for Tora, too. Just to get out of the city for once. I strive on the chaos, personally, but he could use a breather, don’t you think?”

“It’s not really my place to say,” Poppy muttered, still not swayed to accept. “Why would you care? Why get involved?” she asked suddenly, finally looking at him properly again. “You said Tora would be… upset with you if he knew.”

_Because my brother is a self-sabotaging git who won’t recognise something good in his life even when it stares him in the face. With those huge brown eyes and rosy cheeks, nonetheless._

“Deary, I strive off of feeling needed,” he said instead and adjusted his jacket sleeves. Then he folded his arms on the table and looked at her intently again. “Just let us do this for you. It’ll make me feel better about myself for a week, and help you out with this otherwise hopeless situation. You don’t have to manage everything on your own, Poppy. It’s okay to accept help sometimes. Just a little help from your friends.” Quincey paused. “Was that too much?”

She held up her thumb and index finger again, and a small laugh slipped from her lips. Quincey grinned. He’d made it. Time to put this plan into action.

———————————————

_I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti. Except that I’m Poppylan fudging Wilkes and I will board your car, drive towards the sea and restore my faith in the career choices I’ve made._

Poppy squared her shoulders, and pulled her backpack up a bit tighter. She’d just stepped off the bus and checked her GPS for the correct direction. Her destination was indeed only a two minute walk from the stop which Quincey had named. In fact, it should be just to her… right. She looked up at the familiar apartment building. The exact one into which Tora had carried Ben the other day. Quickly, she double checked the address she’d been given to confirm she was in the right place. Indeed, she was. Wait, did that mean that he was the mentor? Had Ben just laid there, unattended, while Tora had driven her home? Or was there someone else living there, too? Maybe Tora had a housemate or a… a partner? But then why hadn’t he just told her? He could have just said it was his place, instead of going along with the mentor thing. Unless, of course, he hadn’t wanted for her to know his address, because he had never intended to see her after that evening.

_Sorry, Tora, but I’m gonna put myself first. You will help me, and I refuse to feel bad about it, especially after the way you treated me yesterday._

With determination she strode up to the building and moved through the electronic doors. There was a reception style area inside with a man eyeing her briefly. She supposed it was the security guard which Quincey had mentioned, but the man paid her no further attention. Pfft, it’d be so easy for her to walk in here with malicious intent. With her size, the colourful backpack and the cooling bag, he’d clearly decided she didn’t pose a serious threat. As always. Well, she supposed he was right. She was who she looked to be, the girl next door. The small town fry who was trying to make it big in the city, living from pay check to pay check.

_It’s time to add those inches_ , _Poppy. Time to get what you want!_

At the apartment door she looked for a bell, didn’t find one and knocked instead. For a couple of moments it was quiet, and she was just about to knock anew when the door opened a fraction. Tora’s eyes widened upon seeing her, and Poppy decided not to dwell on his surprise but to use it to her advantage instead and push past him. He didn’t put up much resistance, but when she spun around to face him, his surprise had vanished and made way for anger.

“The fuck ya doin’ here?” He growled, taking a step toward her. Poppy folded her arms, determined not to budge.

“I’m ready to go.” She indicated her backpack and the cooling bag, but Tora’s eyes didn’t move from her face.

“Poppy, what the fuck ya doin’ here?” He repeated. "Why d’ya come back to this place?”

“Because it’s _your_ place, and I’m ready to go,” Poppy insisted, Quincey’s words firmly in the back of her mind: “He’ll be a bit rude and abrasive and a real shit, but you have to ignore that. He’ll come around, I promise.”

His eyes nearly bulged out of his head, and his hands were twitching. “Ya came here, because ya thought I live here?”

“Yes, of course!” What the heck was going on? It was his place, he was right here. Was he so upset that she’d found out where they'd truly taken Ben?

“Did ya tell anyone ya were coming here?” Tora took a step toward her, glaring down at her and blocking the hallway light.

“Well, Quincey knows, of course.”

His mouth dropped open. “The fuck ya just say? Quincey? How do ya.. what in the - ya know Quincey?”

He was pacing in front of her now, trying to process what she’d just said. She swallowed. This wasn’t what she’d expected. Quincey had briefed Tora, hadn’t he? She was expecting to find the man grumpy but complacent, begrudgingly following orders. It was his job, right? Quincey had said so. Unless, of course, Quincey had lied?

“Quincey said he was your friend,” she pointed out, beginning to chew on her bottom lip. His eyes darted up at her, then to the couch table.

“Jesus fuck, Poppylan.” He strode over to the table, retrieving a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and grabbing for the lighter on the table. Within the blink of an eye he’d lit his cigarette and taken a deep drag, before tossing the lighter back.

“You’re gonna smoke inside?” Poppy asked wide eyed, already feeling the smoke make her eyes tear up.

“Yeah, cuz ya stressing me the fuck out. I’m tryin’ my fuckin’ best to keep ya safe, and ya just trust the first guy who tells ya he’s _friends_ with me. I ain’t got friends, sweetheart.”

“But he was -“ She made to protest, but he cut her off by stepping right up close to her. Tora blew the smoke out to one side, his head facing away from her and the cigarette held out far from her, too. Then with his free hand, he grabbed her chin and looked at her imploringly.

“Next time, someone tells ya they know me, ya fuckin’ run. Ya get away from them as far away as ya can, ya understand?”

She looked back and forth in between his amber eyes, they were drilling into her and she couldn’t keep hers still to withstand that kind of pressure.

“No, I don’t understand.” Poppy grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from her face, bringing distance between herself and his intimidating presence. “You’re a good guy, Tora.”

“Fuck’s sake, Poppylan, I took a photo of ya with ya fuckin’ tits out!” As much as Poppy desperately wanted to know the reason for that particular misdemeanour, now wasn’t the moment to get to the bottom of it. She needed to add those inches and stare this tiger down. From the moment she’d arrived he’d taken all of her momentum, leaving her reeling and trying to get back on top of the situation. She was Poppylan Wilkes, here to take his car, well, have him take her in his car, no! _Not like that, fudge, fudge, fudge!_ _Get it together, Wilkes._

“And you deleted it,” she reminded him. His fist was clenching and unclenching, and he drew on the cigarette, keeping in the tension. He looked frustrated, just how she felt. Why was he making such a big deal out of this? He didn’t want to be around her, fine, but why couldn’t they talk about that like normal people?

“Ya remember those guys ya saved Mr. Lamb from? They know me, too, they coulda told ya they were my friends, too. Ya would’ve come here if they told ya to?”

“No, of course not! But that’s completely different. I knew in my gut they were trouble, and from Quincey I was getting only positive energy.” The energy thing was maybe a bit far fetched, something Erdene had gotten her into, but you could just tell, couldn’t you? Poppy thought she was quite good at reading situations most of the time. Sure, the Club Miracle fiasco was not speaking in her favour, but it had worked out for the better in the end, hadn’t it?

Tora was pacing again, his cigarette finished in record time. After a moment, he pulled out another and scowled at her, when she crinkled her nose in dismay. The lighter flared, and he brought it to the tip of his cigarette. Poppy could see it helped him calm down, saw the muscles in his face relax ever so slightly, but the last cigarette had lasted him barely a few minutes. At this pace he’d be through the pack before they’d concluded this conversation.

She took off her back pack and sat down on the couch, hoping she could de-escalate the situation by having them both take a non-threatening position. He did not, as she had intended, sit on the couch with her. Instead he pulled a small ottoman from the wall across from her, and situated himself on it, knees splayed wide and his elbows resting on them.

“How do ya know Quincey?” His voice was considerably calmer than before, though it still had an edge to it. Accusatory.

She didn’t know Quincey. But if she told him that, he’d blow up again, wouldn’t he? Poppy needed to flip the script and somehow regain control of the conversation, instead of allowing him to ask all the questions and back her into a corner.

“He said you work for him. Said you run errands for him. Is that true?”

Tora blew a smoky breath out of the corner of his mouth, then nodded. “Kinda. I’m his bodyguard. Drive him around and shit.”

Bodyguard, huh? Poppy let her eyes travel down Tora’s body. They clung to his broad shoulders, now hunched, the muscles flexing along his forearm every time he raised it to take a drag, his massive long legs that allowed him tower over her so far when he stood. She could see it. Tora as a bodyguard. But then how was he involved in shady business? Did that mean that Quincey…

“Tora, I need you to drive me,” she blurted into the silence. Tora stretched out his long arm to stub out his cigarette in the ash tray between them.

“I already told ya no. No’s a no, they don’t teach ya that in school anymore?”

“Really?” She huffed. “This isn’t the time for a lecture in consent.” Because if it was, they’d have to return to the topic of that photo, whether or not he’d intended for her to be exposed on it or not.

“Ya not the boss of me, Poppy.” He shrugged.

“But Quincey is, right?”

Tora glared at her, clearly not liking a reminder of the fact that he was working for someone else. To be fair, she’d never taken Tora to be the type to like taking orders.

“Quincey said, you would drive me.”

Tora stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “I gotta make a call. Ya can stay, or whatever.”

She watched him slide open the balcony door and pull it shut behind himself, allowing a brief breeze into the room. Poppy took a deep breath, trying her best to process the last fifteen minutes. When they’d met at the grocery store he had told her that she’d done nothing wrong, and yet the way he was treating her was so different than she’d expected. While he’d been angry with her three out of six times they’d met, he’d also been considerate, helpful, and sweet.

Poppy knew it was him who’d caught her from that tree, the same day he’d thrown his jacket at her after she’d flashed him with her boobs. He was that guy who had brought her to the cutest little restaurant, and he had laughed then, genuinely laughed, bringing out those obscene dimples of his. He had told her there that her weight was fine, only to shame her later for the food she was buying. Which one had been the real side of him?

Poppy wanted to convince herself, that he’d been caught up in some emotions, stress perhaps, when he’d been so rude to her. And after he had picked up Ben and her, yes, he had been mad, but he’d had a reason, hadn’t he? Only now she was questioning it all. Maybe he’d run halfway across town with her to track Mr. Lam because he had felt bad for the photo, or because his co-workers had been involved. But if he didn’t want anything to do with her beyond that, why ask her to dinner at all? And why request another dinner in exchange for deleting the picture?

She peered outside, catching him look in her direction, but he quickly turned away. It seemed to be a heated conversation. In fact he was gripping the phone so hard she was worried he might crush it or fling it against the wall. Poppy felt weird watching him, so she got to her feet and carried her cooling bag to the fridge. Gently she took out some sandwiches she had made for them, and placed them into the fridge together with the cooling item, to help them last a while longer.

How had everything turned out thirteen times worse than she had anticipated? Poppy sighed and took a good look around the room for the first time. The furniture was exquisite, a worthy match for the outside appearance of the building. Apart from the ash tray on the coffee table and the ashes strewn, in part, around it, the place was pristine. Somehow it didn’t seem to match Tora at all. A gaming console was stored underneath the TV which she could imagine him using, but the art on the walls? It was eccentric, colourful, abstract, some of it displaying experimental nudity - she just couldn’t, with a serious face, imagine this brooding giant on the balcony to have picked out any of it.

Poppy returned to the couch, thinking of what she would say once he returned back inside. So far this entire encounter had been a mess fest, but she couldn’t allow him to refuse. Before she’d left work she had assured Jacob and Erdene that she’d found a safe and reliable way to reach Setton by lunch time the next day. Well, in truth she had hoped to be there before nightfall tonight, but with the pace at which things were going her faith had long begun to waiver.

_I’m Poppylan Wilkes, and you will drive me to Setton so I can fix my career, or at least prevent ruining it. And because you were rude to me, and you yelled at me, I won’t feel bad for it. I won’t feel bad. I will be selfish this one time. Just let me be selfish._

Tora had dropped the phone to his side, and Poppy thought she could lip read him say the f-word. Then he pocketed his phone and returned inside. She got up immediately and stood up straight.

“Before you say anything, I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. I thought you were informed, and you weren’t, but I’m not backing down. I need to get to Setton. And I know we’d both prefer if it wasn’t you who had to take me, but there’s just no other way. I’m sorry if that -“

“Poppylan,” he cut her off, his face less than amused. “I’m takin’ ya, so ya can fuckin’ take a breath.”

She did as he said, realising only then that she’d desperately needed to. He was taking her. He’d agreed. Weight fell off of her, making her feel light-headed. These last two days had been much too dramatic for her liking, and the man who’d caused it all would be in an enclosed space with her for more than four hours. The near future was not looking too rosy, but she knew it was worth it in the end.

“Thank you,” she breathed and rubbed her exhausted face. She was getting a head ache from frowning so much.

“I gotta pack, so ya-,” he cleared his throat, “ya gotta wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jumping back in Tora's head in the next chapter :)


End file.
